Green Pastures and Still Waters......In Our Own Homes......

Tonight I'll give a talk at the homeschool support meeting on Psalm 23:2, "He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul."  The theme of that verse is rest.  Something we all want and something we all need. 

I'm going to try to communicate that this is something we can actually achieve in our life!  In fact, we need to pursue rest, particularly in the areas of physical rest, emotional rest and especially, spiritual rest.

As I wrote the talk, it was great to reflect how God has brought rest to our life in these areas.  When we were younger with a very young family, only 3 children, but all under 3 (a busy time!) we found ourselves involved in just about everything you can imagine in church, from men's ministry, to women's ministry, children's programs, even church leadership.  But we were drowning!  It was clearly becoming too much.  We were in the middle of a move to a new home, living in a rental.  I had a newborn that just wouldn't sleep and a very active toddler that got into so much trouble I would be calling my husband with a new story just about every day (my top three stories about him involve him drinking vegetable oil because he thought it was apple juice, dumping the Raisin Bran all over the floor because he wanted the raisins, and putting his hand in the peanut butter jar and then the other hand in the jam jar because he wanted to mix them together......I started taking pictures of each thing he did so I wouldn't scream, but laugh!)

All this unrest in our lives told us we needed to make a change in our level of involvement, not just in church life, but in all our activities.  At this point I don't even think we realized what the name of the street was that we were moving to.....Stillmeadow.  What a great name of a street!  That's when we started to experience rest, as we slowly took out the things that were taking away our peace and started to concentrate more on keeping me at home with the kids and focus on the homeschooling.  It wasn't overnight.  We lived on Stillmeadow for 7 years.  But we learned to watch for the signs that showed where we lacked peace and peace came.

We moved into Stillmeadow with 3 busy kids and a high level of activity and more stress and we left Stillmeadow with 6 kids and a lower level of activity and higher levels of peace. 

One interesting change we made to achieve peace was the debt-reduction plan.  We had to stop the financial drain!  Piano lessons were killing us.  We also had hired art teachers at one point.  We had them in certain sports when they were little, all every expensive activities.  At first, making this change was very hard.  I found it to be such a loss at first.  How would my kids ever be active or physically able to play with other kids on sports teams if they weren't taught "professionally"?  How would they learn an instrument if someone didn't teach them?  Art?  I am hopeless at art.  How would they learn without a teacher?  What about sewing?  I knew nothing, but I knew I wanted them to learn!  Seemed impossible.

This has to be the most amazing part of the story.  They have taught themselves!  In all of these areas.  I am not an athlete, but they have just gone outside and played.  They haven't shied away from a single sport and for the most part, they're pretty good!  Our oldest boy was once asked, "Aren't you ever going to play organized sports?"  "Yup," he said, matter of factly, "I organize 'em and I play 'em."  Perfect answer.  All my kids can hold their own and take on just about anyone, even those who have paid coaches.  We have the space on the farm, so we bought balls, volleyball nets, and then away they go.  They invite friends over and play for hours. 

As for music lessons, we kept the oldest one in with a paid teacher, which is still killing us, but she's been teaching the younger ones so hopefully it'll come back to us soon!  But the older 3 are teaching themselves guitar, just by playing, watching on-line instruction videos, using the books my husband has lying around on how to learn guitar.  And again, they are not bad!  They are improving and playing all the time.  Sure they would probably improve at a much faster rate and achieve higher skills for sure with an instructor and truth be known, I think I would like to hire someone eventually, but right now, until the financial picture changes, we are being forced to learn on our own, at home.  It's actually been a great homeschool opportunity for us and once again, I have to stop projecting my fears or my insecurities on to my kids - just because I never taught myself guitar doesn't mean they can't!

Sewing?  We had a friend teach us the basics, then boom - we jumped in.  We bought the machines, all the equipment, patterns, material and then looked for things that we like to sew.  My oldest is now very adept at sewing and even gave a sewing camp last spring to a bunch of little girls.  My next daughter has picked it up, too, and now sews a lot of different presents for friends and family.  I remain an "ok" seamstress.  I do enough to get by, but as usual, my kids are advancing past me!

As for art?  It's crazy, they just keep drawing and drawing.  I can't even instruct them I'm so hopeless at it, but we have books and supplies and a couple of them have real talent!  I think the most amazing thing in this whole process that I've loved the most is that our evenings are together, our afternoons are together, our mornings are together.  I am not in the car, driving them all over the place, leaving the little ones behind.  There is a strong sense of peace which comes from not feeling rushed and yet lots is going on in the home which makes for a very busy household, but that I love! 

So, that is what I'll be communicating to the women tonight - strive for peace and rest!  It doesn't have to look like my house, but seek to find out what is causing stress in the home and make changes!  Why are we so afraid to make changes when they are going to help us emotionally and spiritually?  The enemy of our souls is so happy when we are so unhappy.  I'll remind the ladies about his lie, "Good is the enemy of best."  As we meet as husbands and wives, we must discuss what is BEST for our families, instead of settling on what is good.  I think that is the secret in one sentence.

Now I don't live on Stillmeadow.  I actually live by green pastures!  But few of us actually live by green pastures and still waters, yet we can!  These idyllic pastures and quiet waters can be found in our own homes with a little soul searching and perhaps a few changes.  But it'll take a certain amount of bravery.... it's going against the crowd for sure.  The only thing I can say to that is - it's worth it!